PUTTRU Technologies Limited has said Nigeria and other African countries should be exempted from the net-zero carbon emissions target of 2050.
The digital energy platform said in a statement that it had produced a discussion paper in response to the deliberations at the last climate change summit in Glasgow, in line with its mission of availing smart solutions to energy problems in the continent, while attracting the right financiers.
“With the fragile economies of African countries, like Nigeria at risk in the face of the transition towards net-zero carbon emission by 2050, one problem that has been bugging policymakers is how to balance the three arms of sustainability – economy, social and environment, while bridging the energy gaps for her ever-growing population,” it said.
The company said the paper, titled ‘Africa’s sustainable energy transition: Assessing the true costs,’ identified the obvious challenges that would confront Africa with the ongoing calls in the developed nations to discourage investments in fossil fuels in the continent.
It, therefore, urged policymakers in the continent to adopt a pathway that would ensure a mixture of both renewable and non-renewable options, while maintaining the required balance to ensure sustainability.
PUTTRU argued in the paper that while Africa must be allowed to utilise its baseload energy sources like other regions of the world, “the current call for divestment from the continent’s fossil fuel should be discontinued as it would lead to neocolonialism”.
The lead author of the discussion paper and Founder of PUTTRU, Monica Maduekwe, said Africa should follow a pragmatic pathway to a sustainable energy transition, which would allow the continent to increase energy consumption, grow and develop its economy and human capacity, invest in climate-resilient infrastructure and industrial capacity.
She said, “PUTTRU’s COP26 discussion paper provides analysis as to why the widely-held option is not in the world’s best interest, as this option will aggravate existing issues relating to poverty, irregular migration, and insecurity, which overflows into Western countries.
“In the report, we show what African policymakers must do to ensure carbon neutrality in Africa in the long run. This does not have to be by 2050. China, the second-largest economy in the world and largest carbon dioxide emitter, globally, has set 2060 for its net-zero emissions target.
“However, global net-zero emissions can be achieved by 2050 if the highest polluters are willing to cut down emissions significantly to neutralise whatever emissions Africa cannot help but produce in order to develop. I have not seen this global balancing of the emissions equation, being heavily discussed.”
